Lok Sabha elections 2024: Vishwanath warns Sudhakar against 'gimmicks'

Yelahanka BJP MLA S R Vishwanath on Monday cautioned the party’s Chikballapur Lok Sabha poll nominee Dr K Sudhakar to stop “gimmicks and publicity stunts” while pointing out that the election this time would be tough.

This came a day after Sudhakar claimed Vishwanath refused to meet him or receive his calls. 

Vishwanath told reporters that Sudhakar, by playing such gimmicks, is only making it hard for himself in the elections. 

“Sudhakar had texted me five days back that he wanted to see me. But I had no intimation from him that he was coming to my house. So, I left home to take part in various programmes. But Sudhakar had informed the media. He came here and did a publicity stunt to gain sympathy,” Vishwanath said.

Vishwanath clarified that he is not disgruntled anymore. “Yes, I was naturally upset for 2-3 days that my son Alok did not get the ticket,” he said. According to the Yelahanka MLA, the Chikballapur election will require lot of effort this time. 

“Last time, B N Bache Gowda had sympathy and there was a Modi wave. Vokkaligas voted for Bachegowda. One section of the Balijiga community also voted for Bachegowda because Veerappa Moily was a weak candidate,” he said. In 2019, Yelahanka gave BJP a lead of 75,000 votes in Chikballapur Lok Sabha seat. 

“This time, both candidates (Sudhakar and Congress’ Raksha Ramaiah) are equal. If it was Moily, we’d have won easily. We can’t dismiss Raksha. We can’t be overconfident,” Vishwanath said, adding votes can’t be sought in Sudhakar’s name. “We will lose out if we do that. But with Modi’s name, we will make gains.” 

Reacting to Vishwanath, Sudhakar told reporters that he does not wish to drag the issue further. He insisted that he had made several calls and sent text and voice messages.

“I was passing by that route. So, I decided to drop by to meet him at his residence, thinking that he would be home. I do not want to make this an issue,” he said.